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Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Extortion attempts hit ex-pats in Mexico

Ex-pats living on the Pacific coast of Mexico north of
Puerto Vallarta, as well as in the Lake Chapala area, have been subject to a
rash of amateurish extortion attempts. There has also been a rise in “virtual
kidnapping” efforts – resulting in a warning from the U.S. Consulate in
Guadalajara – and more violent incidents against Mexicans around Lake Chapala.

English-speaking residents in Bucerias and in the Lake
Chapala area have been receiving calls to their Telmex landlines in which callers
claim to be from the hyper-violent Zetas cartel. The callers claim they want money
for "protection".

The callers usually state they "have guns and know
where you live". They might also claim to have had previous communication with
a householder, and say that they will return the next day for payment. The
calls are usually in Spanish, but are sometimes in English. Often, they originate
from prisons.

Mexican police have been advising foreigners to “just hang
up” and “not to worry about it”. Though this sounds weak, it is reasonable advice:
this scam has been active for some time, and only works if the person stays on the
line and participates. One other option is to pay Telmex for an unlisted number.

U.S. Consulate
warning

The recent security
message for U.S. citizens that was sent out by the Consulate in Guadalajara
was specific to “virtual kidnapping” attempts. In these cases, family members
in the U.S. are called and told that loved ones in Mexico have been kidnapped.

According to U.S. authorities, the scam usually starts with
the collection of information about the family. Specifically, the Consulate
states that:

Someone may call the
home and pretend to be a salesman, friend, businessman, pastor, etc. The caller will use the information collected
during this call to convince the family that someone has actually been
kidnapped when he calls back days or weeks later. In addition to telephone calls, email and
social media sites are used by the criminals to collect information on the victims.

When the virtual
kidnapping call is made, it often begins with a crying/ pleading voice
immediately after the call is answered and before the “kidnapper” gets on the
phone. In this manner, they hope to
confuse the family and get them to give additional important information. The voice of the “victim” will usually be
crying and/or hysterical – this makes it difficult to identify and increases
the likelihood that you will believe it is in fact your loved one.

Criminals will try to
use fear, tact and timing against you.
For example, they plan their calls to coincide with times when it will
be difficult to contact the child or another adult immediately (e.g. when child
is either on their way to or from school).
All calls demand money for the release of the loved one and stipulate no
police involvement. Often times the
callers will give statements to suggest surveillance such as: “we saw you at
the school with your camioneta”. Very
vague but implying they have been watching your family and using fear and
everyday routines against you to reinforce the threat of the kidnapping. They will also impart a sense of great
urgency. For example, their initial
demand maybe for some outrageous amount of money, but then they will
“negotiate” and ask how much you have access to right now.

Lake Chapala’s
unknown crime rate

Meanwhile, businesses in Lake Chapala are being negatively affected
by extortion rackets. Word on the street is that last year criminals tried to
extort money from a respected veterinarian who refused to pay and closed
down. A hairdresser west of Chapala also
moved his business into Ajijic to avoid paying extortion.

About four months ago on Jocotepec, also on Lake Chapala, a
merchant refused to pay and, so the story goes, either one or two of his sons
were murdered shortly thereafter. Only a few months ago a Mexican doctor was
kidnapped – she paid, and was apparently returned unharmed.

Refusing to pay can have consequences

In the past few weeks there is word of attempts to extort
money from the hotels in Chapala. Sources close to La politica say that a manager refused to pay, and 30 or more
bullets were fired into his house.

The police are releasing no
crime information, which is only making things worse. The accounts mentioned above, for example, are hard to verify. And to hear that "one or two" people might have been murdered offers little reassurance to residents, whether Mexican or foreign.

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In the podcast Notes From The Underground TE Wilson discusses historical and contemporary attitudes toward crime. Each episode features a one-on-one interview that explores a unique topic. Interviewees include authors, experts, and individuals with personal experiences of crime. These podcasts were originally broadcast through the facilities of Trent Radio in Peterborough, Canada.

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